Traffic doors are two-way swinging doors commonly used in industrial and commercial establishments. The doors are normally biased to the closed position and can be swung to the open position manually or by impact with material handling equipment, such as a fork lift truck.
Traffic doors of the type shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,295,589 and 4,060,924 include an inverted L-shaped frame which is hinged to the jamb of the doorway to swing in either direction, and the frame carries an impact resistant panel which can be engaged by material handling equipment to move the door to the open position. A spring loaded cam mechanism is associated with the upper horizontal section of the frame and acts to bias the door to the closed position. When the panel is engaged by material handling equipment, the door is swung to the open position against the force of the spring loaded cam mechanism, and after the equipment has passed through the doorway, the door is automatically returned to the closed position by the spring biasing force.
In the past, the installation of traffic doors has presented serious problems. As the traffic door is composed of an inverted L-shaped frame and a flexible rubber-like panel, it is not self-supporting. Because of this and the fact that the door has substantial weight, it has been necessary in the past to devise on-site equipment which would hold the door in an upright position as it is being installed in the doorway.
Problems have also arisen in properly aligning the doors within the doorway, particularly where a pair of swinging doors are to be employed. In commercial or industrial establishments, the doorway jamb is normally constructed of a steel channel, and in the conventional manner of hanging the traffic door, brackets are welded at upper and lower locations to the steel jamb and bearing assemblies are then mounted on the brackets. It is necessary to precisely align the bearing brackets at the upper and lower locations on the jamb in order that the door will be properly hung and to eliminate any gap at the junction where the pair of doors meet along the center of the doorway. The proper aligning of the bearing assemblies is a difficult operation and depends primarily on the skill of the workman. As a result of this, there have been many instances where the traffic doors have not been properly hung, thereby resulting in an incomplete weather seal between the door and the jamb or at the junction between the doors.